The Calling Phuong Dang 2016

Very sweet without being edible. You can guess the spices, but it looks like it's hidden under syrup or resin or poured over it. I don't see any cinnamon. It reminds me of sweet pipe tobacco; sometimes it seems so strangely wet, although you expect something dry and smoky. And that's how I feel with The Calling, as if wood had become wet and a box of cigars was standing next to it. It's well done and doesn't kill you and doesn't seem synthetic, but I still don't smell the exorbitant price. But I think I've smelled that way with others before. And this sweet rum-tobacco theme is too clichéd for me, too much "how to do it". Wood, tobacco and rum is what many people associate with a dignified Gentlemans Club, plus some sweet caramel to make it pleasing and there you go, the mainstreamer, pretending to be a niche, with a few spices thrown in. Hm, no. The best thing about the fragrance, I think, is the bottle.